Maybe you’ve noticed them driving county and local roads, the culverts and little bridges passing a stream under the roadway. And maybe you’ve noticed the water backing up behind them in the spring or after a heavy rain.

Kim Balke, BiologistConservation Resource Alliance

According to the Conservation Resource Alliance (CRA) undersized road-stream crossings create sites of erosion that dump sediments into the stream and form barriers to migrating fish like steelhead and salmon.

Recently, we joined biologist and project manager, Kim Balke on a rainy day at a newly repaired road-stream crossing on the Little Betsie River. Kim explained how CRA is working to repair and replace road-stream crossings in Benzie County and throughout northwest lower Michigan to improve water quality, restore habitat and make rivers more resilient to the impacts of heavy storms.